Dave Freeman, co-author of 100 Things to Do Before You Die, died last week at the age of 47. He was a travel writer that inspired thousands of readers and imitators but died after hitting his head in a fall at his home. His family said that he had only visited half of the places mentioned in his book.
Irony is not the right word here and I don’t mean to make sport of Freeman’s tragic death but this had quite the impact on me. How sad that you would make your mark proclaiming to everyone that experiencing these 100 places would give your life meaning and then fail to complete the task yourself.
I don’t believe that the guy with the most toys wins and I can’t believe that the meaning of your life is summed up in the places you visit. Christian or otherwise I can’t make that reconcile with the world as I have experienced it. Really living, not just surviving, must be found in something else.
In Acts 3: 15 Peter calls Jesus, “the author of life” (NIV), “the Prince of life”(NASV), “the one who leads us to life” (CEV). The same greek word is used in Acts 5: 31, in Hebrews 2:10 and Hebrews 12: 2.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The word is notoriously difficult to translate. In classic Greek literature it is used to describe a hero / trailblazer who will head out into uncharted territory, conquer a new city, and then lead the common people to this new land and set himself up as Ruler over this new kingdom. This new city is then named after it’s hero / author. (See Greek hero Alexander the Great and his namesake Alexandria, Egypt)
Peter declares that Jesus is this trailblazer who leads us to life. He conquers it, authors it, and originates it. Real life is found by Jesus and He leads us to it. Real life is authored by Jesus. He wrote the book on it. In Jesus I find the purpose of my being on earth. I don’t have faith in Jesus because he makes my life better; I put my faith in Him because He is better than life!
The accomplishments of this world and it marvels will pale in comparison to the one who was there when this all began. All these accomplishments will fade in comparison to Him.
ephesians2eight 